Picadillo

This recipe is excellent. I've made it several times and it tastes better every time. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com a few years ago. Its the ultimate comfort food and we all know how I feel about comfort foods. It can be served over rice or used as filling for empanadas. The cinnamon and bay leaf make the recipe so don't leave them out! I leave out the tomatoes and just add tomato sauce, cayenne, and sofrito.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

7 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium-large onion

1 medium-large green bell pepper, chopped

2 pounds ground beef or chuck

5 ounces pitted olives, halved

5 ounces capers, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 dried bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 cup cilantro sofrito

1. In a large stock pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion and green pepper until onions are transparent. Add sofrito and garlic, saute another a minute or so. Remove from heat. In a separate saucepan, brown the ground beef.
2. Add the olives, capers, vinegar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, bay leaves and tomato sauce to the onion-sofrito mixture. Return to heat and let simmer over low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

*Note: You can do this in one pan/pot. Start by browning the ground beef in the pan. Remove it and set aside. Then use the beef drippings in place of olive oil and follow the recipe from there.

Albondigas

A delicious Mexican comfort food. 

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey (beef is used traditionally)

1 lb Mexican chorizo (uncased)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed

1 cup onions, diced and divided

¼ cup long grained rice, divided

7 cups water

32 ounces chicken broth

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 roma tomatoes, diced

3 large tomatoes, roasted and blended

2 small russet potatoes, cubed

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

¼ teaspoon coriander, crushed

1 handful of cilantro, chopped

¼ teaspoon whole safflower

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine turkey and chorizo with garlic powder, salt, crushed peppercorns, 2 tablespoons of onions, and 1/8 cup of rice. Mix all ingredients together and roll out 1-inch meatballs.

Arrange three tomatoes on a baking sheet. Place your oven rack as close to the broiler as possible. Broil the tomatoes for about 20 minutes until softened, turning over after 10 minutes. If the skin has blackened remove it. In a blender or food processor, puree the tomatoes until smooth. Set aside.

In a large pot boil water, chicken broth, and minced garlic. Lower heat to medium and carefully add meatballs to the liquid. Cook meatballs for about 10-15 minutes or until the meatballs float to the surface and lower heat to simmer.

In a medium skillet sauté the remaining onions and diced roma tomatoes in olive oil.

To the pot of broth add the sautéed onions, tomatoes, fresh tomato sauce, remaining rice, potatoes, carrots, celery, coriander, cilantro, and safflower.

Cook over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes. Ladle soup with about 5 albondigas per bowl. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, lime wedges, and serve with warn corn tortillas. If you would like your soup spicy add a spoonful of your favorite homemade salsa.

Italian Dessert

I'm totally and utterly in love with Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop. The gelato (try the snickers flavor) is great and I've never had a baked good that I didn't like. The cannolis are my favorite. This was my first time at the Little Italy location, I usually go to the one in Canton and I take my goodies to go. This time I was on a date so we dined-in. (Side note: parking is atrocious so plan accordingly.) The quality and taste of the product is excellent at both locations, but the service is slow because there's only one waitress even on a busy Saturday night. 

I ordered apple strudel, which wasn't particularly sweet on its own (I didn't mind because I don't really have a sweet tooth) but was sprinkled with cinnamon, drizzled with caramel sauce, and topped with whipped cream. Yum! I also ordered my usual cookies and cannolis to-go. Perfect ending to my night!

Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week 2014: Steakhouse

I went to Sullivan's Steakhouse for lunch during restaurant week. The space is very large with a generous bar and dinning room. The kitchen is semi-open and wall of windows make it bright. I had a reservation but probably didn't need it. 

I ordered the Maryland crab soup and NY strip. The soup was good in terms of flavor but could have used some more crab. The steak would have been perfect if I had ordered it medium-well or well done, but I didn't so it was overcooked. It reminded me of a plated dinner at a conference or wedding. A mediocre steak with pretty good potatoes and sauce. My friend has invited me to happy hour here many times and I may go but I don't think I want to try for lunch or dinner again.

Melting Pot

My sister and I came here the day before Thanksgiving. It was her treat "for a foodie like me" as she put it. I had never been to this location or any other in the franchise. To be honest I wasn't completely sure about the concept. Anyway, I'm so glad that I finally made it. This was the best dining experience I had in a long while. The food was fantastic, but the service was even better! Our waitress was attentive, knowledgeable, and a down right sweetheart. 

We ordered the spinach and artichoke fondue for our first course. It was just as good if not better than the dip I usually make at home, which is has never been the case at any other restaurant I've been to. Next was the salad course. Lettuce is lettuce.

We chose the court bouillon for our main course. I got The Classic, so I could sample a variety of things and my sister got the French Quarter. My entree came with Angus sirloin, Memphis-style BBQ pork medallion, Pacific white shrimp, herb-crusted all-natural breast of chicken, and teriyaki-marinated sirloin. It also comes with vegetables and red potatoes. It sounds like a lot of food and it was! It also includes six delicious sauces/condiments. The green goddess sauce made with sour cream, cream cheese, and herbs was so good I plan to recreate it at home. The curry yogurt sauce was light and refreshing. 

We ended the meal with the Flaming Turtle fondue which is swirled with caramel, sprinkled with candied pecans, and flambeed with 151! I'm not the biggest chocolate fan but it was to die for. We dipped banana (we asked for more), strawberries, rice krispy treats, brownies, blondies, marshmallows, and pound cake until we thought we'd burst.

At the end of the night we left a hefty tip, gave to St. Jude's, and waddled out stuffed and happy. I cannot wait to go back. We received a gift card for giving so, soon and very soon!

Burgers: Burger Bros.

Came here for lunch a couple weeks ago based on proximity to work and other reviews. The burgers are fresh made like most places (that aren't fast food) and I've come to expect that. I am no burger connoisseur, but the burger was good. I've had better and I've had much worse. It's comparable to Five Guys, which is down the street. The burger patty itself is larger (thicker), but the toppings are just as fresh and delicious. I will say that I AM a potato connoisseur, especially french fries and these have nothing on Five Guys, Kooper's, or even GrrChe food truck. I can't say that I am a fan yet, but I will go back.

Alexander's Tavern

Alexander's Tavern is so cute and cozy. There's a lively bar on one side and a quaint dining room on the other. My date and I got a little table in the window. The waitress was very attentive and sweet.

I'll start this by saying if you don't order anything else get TOTS. As much as I love potatoes I am not a fan of tots at all. My date and I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Tots and BBQ Sweet Potato Tots; both were fantastic! I could have used a little more spice in the buffalo sauce but the flavor was great. The combination of the sweet potato with tangy BBQ sauce and savory pulled pork was to die for. I want to replicate it at home! Even though I was completely satisfied after the tots I ordered the Maryland burger. It was cooked as I requested and the crab dip on top was delicious! I can't wait to go back. They have happy hour right? Because tots and beer sounds like the perfect combo after a long day of work.

Reading Terminal Market

I wish I lived in Philly just to go to Reading Terminal Market regularly! Baltimore has 6 public markets and though I've only been to 3 of them, I'm going to overgeneralize and say this one is better than them ALL (debate is welcome lol)! There's so much to taste and see you need at least a couple weeks daily visits to try it all. I love that there's ample seating to enjoy the goodies you buy.

This was my first visit! I got breakfast from the Dutch Eating Place and baked goods from the adjacent bakery. Everything was delicious from the fresh churned butter on my french toast to the thick cut turkey bacon. I took home wheat and oatmeal bagels, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, and crumb cake for less than $10! I love the Amish!

I'm with my fellow yelpers, if you're in Philly and don't stop here you're totally missing out. I CANNOT wait to go back!

Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week 2014: SoBo Café

I went to SoBo Cafe for restaurant week a few weeks back. I had a reservation but was late due to traffic. When I arrived I was informed that my table was reserved for someone else soon after mine but I could sit at the bar for a more leisurely meal. I chose the bar.

The atmosphere is extremely welcoming. I felt as if I had visited a friends home for a dinner party. My coat was taken at the door and hung on hooks near the entry. The restaurant is two renovated rowhouses so it was fitting. 

I ordered mac n cheese for an appetizer. It was pretty good; creamy and flavorful. It was a venture from the traditional southern baked mac n cheese because it had tomatoes, but I was pleasantly surprised and I'd definitely order it again. For my entree I chose the Korean chicken fried steak with kimchi collard greens. I LOVE Korean food and it was the PERFECT fusion of Asian and southern comfort food. I wish they would package up and sell the kimchi. It was amazing! Everything kimchi should be: crisp, refreshing, spicy, and sweet. Dessert was parsnip cake with a caramel sauce. I love a good root vegetable so I was pleased.

All in all great experience, so go try it! If I didn't live across town I'd be a regular for sure!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups Flour
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 can Pumpkin

3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground cloves
1/8 tsp Ground ginger
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Baking soda
4 oz Applesauce
1/4 cup Oil
1/3 cup Water
2 Eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 5x9 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaf is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.